Having brokered a ceasefire in late January between warring parties in eastern DR Congo, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, known by its acronym, MONUC, now risks becoming overstretched, according to the Secretary-General's latest report [pdf]. The danger stems from two interrelated developments:

First, having achieved the success of a peace deal, MONUC is responsible to help implement it. In this case, that requires pursuing three objectives: monitoring the ceasefire; supporting the process of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR); and securing the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). This latter task is particularly daunting, as more displaced persons are crowded into Congo's eastern provinces than anywhere else in the country.

Second, to achieve these goals, MONUC has needed to relocate significant numbers of its personnel eastward. While this is an understandable and laudable move -- particularly because of the persistent insecurity in IDP camps -- it runs the risk of pulling much-needed peacekeepers from other volatile areas, which, as Ban notes in his report, "might jeopardize important progress towards peace and stability elsewhere in the country."

It is perhaps the lot of UN peacekeeping that, as soon as one fire seems close to being put out, another ignites, and the UN, in Kofi Annan's memorable formulation, then needs to go around begging for the parts to build the firetruck. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, just as the need to consolidate peace in eastern Congo looms large on MONUC's agenda, the western part of the country has experienced a disturbing uptick in violence.

As I've previously articulated, a peacekeeping mission's success, in one sense, can be measured by its readiness to minimize its presence and eventually depart. Sometimes, though, en route to drawdowns, a mission must beef up its presence in the short-term. That appears to be what is happening in DR Congo, where Ban, in the report that preceded this one, had laid out benchmarks for a process of eventual withdrawal. Here, however, he has determined that "the Mission's current force levels...do not reflect the critical role MONUC is expected to play" in securing peace in the east, while still maintaining stability in the rest of this enormous country.

Yes, MONUC is currently (at least until UNAMID fully deploys in Darfur) the largest and most expensive peacekeeping operation in the UN's history. But a rapid drawdown in the interests of financial expediency flies in the face of facts on the ground in Congo and would deeply unsettle the only thinly etched lines of peace that are developing in the country. For such a resource-rich behemoth in central Africa, whose post-independence history has been racked by over four decades of war, corruption, and disease, the prospect of a sustainable peace is in all respects worth the investment of continuing to support MONUC.

A new UN-commissioned report says that women are discriminated against in nearly every nation in the world:

It says that this is despite the fact that 185 UN member states pledged to outlaw laws favouring men by 2005.

It adds that 70% of the world's poor are women and they own just 1% of the world's titled land.

The report, which was prepared for UN Human Right Commissioner Louise Arbour, says rape within marriage has still not been made a crime in 53 nations.

The report was prepared by Fareda Banda, a law professor at London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She says that there are many more discriminatory laws against women, including statutes on divorce, maternity benefits and pensions. Even seemingly harmless laws like the legal age for marriage has a huge impact on girls' and women's lives:

"Many states still have different ages of marriage for young women than they have for young men, and the age for girls is always lower then the age for boys. . . This leads to violations, for example of a girls' right education, if she has to leave school at 14 to get married, and this impacts upon her life chances . . . It ends up being a life-long violation of her rights in terms of forfeiting education, having children too early, possibly being damaged herself."

For more information on how marriage at an early age affects girls, check out this video by the UNFPA. In the meantime, let's hope this report will serve as a serious call to the UN member states to keep their promise and eliminate these harmful laws; the world's women can't afford to wait any longer.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's first trip to Russia was largely pro forma: Ban stressed the importance of Russia's membership in and contributions to the UN, and Russian leaders -- Putin and Medvedev both -- praised the role of the UN as "the key element of the whole system of international relations." Russia's enthusiastic support, however, may prove to extend beyond words, if what Reuters reports turns out to be true:

Kommersant newspaper reported that during the meeting with Medvedev, Ban Ki-moon would be told of Moscow's willingness to increase its annual contribution to the U.N. to roughly the same as the United States -- a huge 20-fold hike in its fees.

In 2006 the United States contributed $423 million and Russia $21.2 million.

Other G8 member states like Japan, France and the United Kingdom paid in substantially more in 2006 than Russia.

I'm not sure where exactly Russia, with a substantially smaller economy than that of the U.S., is going to get this money, but the investment would be more than welcome. Moreover, Russia's offer to pay more to the UN stands in sharp contrast to the U.S.'s frequent complaints about the size of its share, as well as to its unwritten policy of falling behind on its dues -- over $1.2 billion, at last count.

The U.S. has often been as outspoken as Russia in its support for expanding UN responsibilities. To meet these commitments, as well as to maintain its influence relative to other major powers -- an often under-appreciated benefit of paying such a large portion of the UN's budget -- the U.S. would be wise to pony up and put its money where its mouth is.

It's obviously a disturbing sign of the times when a blog like FP Passport feels the need to run a recurring "food riot watch" in response to unrest in Haiti, Kenya, and Egypt. Hopefully, the good folks at Passport are ready to stay on the story for the long haul because according to Lennart Bage, president of the UN's International Fund, prices are not coming down any time soon. Says Bage

"Most experts do think higher prices are here for a longer term... We will see a supply response, so hopefully the prices will come down somewhat," he said before adding a word of caution.

"According to experts in the field, prices will remain higher than in the past and what we see is most likely a structural shift to higher prices."

Read more.

>>Nepal - Today the citizens of Nepal vote in their first election in nine years, the result of a peace deal with Maoist rebels who have ended their decade-long insurgency to transition to a legitimate political party. The campaign was plagued with violence and intimidation (the Maoists in particular were accused), leaving at least 12 people dead, including two candidates. The new 601-member parliament will write a new constitution and likely abolish Nepal's 240-year-old Hindu monarchy, the last remaining. The tabulation process is complicated, as representatives are apportioned both nationwide and as a result of direct election and are bound by quotas for women and Nepal's many ethnic and caste groups. UN election monitors don't expect results until the end of April or early may. Maoists have agreed to accept the results of today's election, but some fear that hardliners might take to the streets.

>>Zimbabwe - Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa has called for an emergengy meeting of southern African leaders to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe under the umbrella of the South African Development Community, chaired by Mwanawasa. The opposition party in Zimbabwe has repeatedly complained about the "deafening silence" from regional leaders.

>>Olympic - City officials in San Francisco went to extraordinary lengths to insure that the Olympic torch was unmolested in its only appearance in the United States. The torch relay was rerouted at the last second, as police along the original route donned riot gear to fool protestors into believing that the torch's arrival was imminent. The relay was then accompanied by a phalanx of uniformed police officers on foot and motorcyle as it made its way towards Golden Gate Park with protestors and media in hot pursuit. The torch was then whisked away to the airport, leapfrogging the closing ceremony. In what some believe is an effort to distract attention from the protestors, China announced today that it had foiled a plot by Uighur separatists, a group that China has tried to lump in with President Bush's "war on terror," to kidnap athletes and journalists during the Olympics.

• Will Kony Sign?
• Khalilzad to Resign?
• No, YOU'RE Indicted!

Africa

• South Africa - Shoot to kill, South African minister tells police
• Uganda - Uganda rebels due to sign peace
• Kenya - Kenya opposition urges restraint
• Kenya - Kenya crisis strains human-animal balance in parks
• Libya - Appeal judges bar removal of 'key al-Qaida deputy'

Americas

• Ecuador - Security Forces Rocked by Shake-Up in Ecuador
• U.S. - American Airlines cancels more than 1,000 flights
• Haiti - Uneasy calm in Haiti after food price protests
• Mexico - Mexico Proposes Limited Overhaul of State Oil Monopoly
• Colombia - Partisan Tangle Over Trade Pact With Colombia
• Ecuador - Ecuador's military chiefs resign

Asia

• Afghanistan - Afghans Hold Secret Trials for Men That U.S. Detained
• Sri Lanka - Attack on arms sale to Sri Lanka
• China - China raises 2007 growth figure
• Pakistan - Musharraf urges Pakistan lawyers against anarchy
• India - India court approves quota plan
• Korea - N.Korea hurls insults, bars more South officials
• Thailand - Thai police find dead Burmese workers in lorry
• Russia - Russia may boost PM's powers in regions
• Afghanistan - 8 Civilians Killed in Afghan Blast

Europe

• Kosovo - Kosovo adopts a new constitution
• Iceland - Iceland raises interest rate to 15.5%
• Italy - Outbursts turn up heat in Italy campaign
• Ireland - Finance Minister to Take Over as Prime Minister in Ireland
• Sweden - Iraqi Refugees Find Sweden's Doors Closing
• Bulgaria - One more chance -- then turn off the Brussels money tap
• Bulgaria - Organised crime link to Islamic terror exposed

Middle East

• Iraq - Iraq snubbed Britain and calls US into Basra battle
• Israel - Militants Kill 2 Israeli Civilians in Gaza Attack
• Israel - Israel to bar UN rights official
• Iraq - Iraq Orders U.S. Military to Free Jailed Photographer
• Iraq - Bush to Cut Army Tours to 12 Months
• Iraq - Petraeus and Crocker Testimony Off the Radar of Most in Baghdad
• Iraq - RAF pilot warned of vulnerability of Hercules aircraft, inquest told